Telegraph transmitter



Nov. 11; 1941.

, K. GUNDLFINGER ET AL TELEGRAPH TRANSMITTER Filed Aug. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wedlalzl BY Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNITED TELEGRAPH TRAN SMITIER Karl Gundliinger and Alfred Lahl, Frankfort on-the-Main, Germany, assignors to Autophon Aktiengesellschaft, Solothurn, Switzerland, 'a

Swiss company 7 Application August 1'7, 1938, Serial No; 225,310

In Germany August 31, 1937 e v 8Claims. (c1. ire-'19) The invention relates to a telegraphy sender having a plurality of keys each of which when operated ortouched causes the sending out of a telegraphic signal composed of a plurality of impulses. In known telegraphy senders of this generalkind each key isconnected to a selector or selecting member which carries one or more projectionsand a plurality of combination members are provided which scan these projections of a the selecting -member of the depressed key and operate contacts accordingly which determine the telegraphic signal to be sent out.

It isa feature of the present invention that each of these combination members is swingably mounted ona horizontal axis, and normally ar ranged'in a vertical plane intersecting the axis and that the keys with their selectingmembers are supported in such a way that they too are movedsubstantially vertically downwardly when operated. By this the swinging movement of the combination members, which is necessary for scanning or feeling over the projections of the selector member of a depressed key, is decreased.

According to a further feature of the invention magnetic means are provided which remove the combination members out of the path of movement of the projections of the selector members connected to the keys in opposition to the actionoi the springs. This makes it possible to operate the keys without the load ;of the combination members or the contacts controlled by them and to put the combination members under. the influence of their springs for scanning feeling over the projections of the depressed selectormember only after the key is depressed i i i i Another feature of the invention is a special locking device swingable on an axis and mainly arranged in a vertical position which locking device is under the influence of an electromagnet and which maintains a key operated in its depressed position, but locks thereby all other. keys against movement. This makes it possible in a simple manner to assure that the projections of the selector member of always only a single key are scanned by the combination members so that always the telegraphic signal corresponding to the key operated will be sent out.

A further feature of the invention relates to a device also arranged in the path of movement of the selector members of the keys which is swung on depressing a key and operates contacts by which an electromagnetic lockingdevice is energized. By this electromagnetic locking device, after becoming. operative, other contacts are operated which make ineifective the magnet movmg'or operating on the combination memberssothat the combination members will scan the projections of the selector members of the depressed key under the influence of their springs.

Further features will be found in the anew-y ing, description and the drawings. The drawings i show the essential parts of a specifical modification of the invention;

Fig. lshowsschematically one of a plurality of similar keys of the key board and a key lever depressed,fthe combination members and the circuits controlled by them; y

Fig 2 is a section through the combination mb rs. i i Fig; 3 is aview of the support of the combi-, nation members; j j

Fig. is a view of the general arrangement of. the keyjs and the combination members.

Each key T has a shank TS which is supported by twostruts TA and TB pivotally mounted at TCiand TD on a stationary rail S. A spring TF is arranged between the struts TA and TB. The rail S; the struts TA and TB and the shanks TS form alinkage which, on depression of the key T, causes the shank TS of the key to move substantially vertically. The lower end of the shank ;TS is formed as a comb L the teeth of which can act on the permutation members KA to KE to select a combination corresponding to the key to, which the comb belongs. The point atv which the spring TF is attached to the strut TB is further from the point TD than is the point at which the spring is attached to the strut TA from the point TC. The spring TF therefore tends to holdthe key T in the lifted position. Thisposition is limited by a stop B fixed to the rail S and preferably faced with a resilient materialto form a cushion, -The' strut TB has a rearward extension the arm A of which abuts against a rail 0 fixed to' the fixed bar S and thus limits the downward movement of the key T.

The rearward extension of the strut TB also has a lug M which lies beneath an arm D of the lever H] which is connected to the type lever H3 through a lever H2 (Figure 2). When the key T is struck, the lever HI is turned clockwise by the lug M to actuate the type bar of the printing mechanism (not shown) A striking member SG belonging to a receiver notshown in detail here isY-also arranged beneath the arm D. It has two arms from one of which is suspended an actuating member SH which is acted upon by the armature of a printing magnet (not shown) to cause a type to be printed.

As can be seen from Figure 1, when the arm D is struck by the striking member SG, the type lever HI is swung without causing movement of the key T.

The rail SW which is lifted whenever the lever HI is swung upwards controls the stepping of the paper carriage in the manner usual in typewriters.

The selecting combs L at the lower end of each key shank TS are formed by cutting away different teeth from identical combs thus providing difierent combinationsv for the setting of the permutation members KA to KE (Figure 1) in accordance with the code signal to be sent out.

on actuation of a particular key. In addition to. its teeth LE, each selecting comb L has a tooth LX which acts on a control member X arranged beside the permutation members and. a tooth LY which is acted upon by a. locking member Y also arranged beside the permutation members. The permutation members, the control member X and the locking member Y are all pivotally mounted at intermediate points on horizontal pivots Z. The permutation members have springs KF which tend to turn them clockwise (Figure 1) while the control member X and the locking member Y have springs XF and YF which tend to turn them counterclockwise. When the magnet RM (Figure 1) is energized, an actuating member R connected to its armature RA is moved to the right and swings the permutation members counterclockwise. The pivots Z of the springs KF are thus tensioned.

The pivots Z of the various permutation members, the control member X and the locking member Y are journalled in bearing blocks E (Fig. 3) on a base plate G. The distance between the bearing blocks E is smaller than the length of the members which they support- In this way, twisting of the various pivoted members is avoided. The springs KF, YF and In which are only diagrammatically shown in Figure 4 act on theparts N (Figure 2) of the members KA-KE, X and. Y, that is to say, below the pivotal axes of those members. These springs also provide contacts x, y and a to e which control the various circuits. Each permutation member has an actuating spring KF on one side of it and one of the contact springs. a-e on the other side.

The locking member Y carries the armature YA of a magnet YM which enablesthe said member to be swung against the action of its spring YF (Figure 1).

Before a signal is sent out, the magnet RM (Figure 1) must be preparato-rily energized. By actuation of the starting key TAN, a circuit is closed for the magnet RM which runs over the contact 112 which is closed when the rail Y is in its normal position. In this way, the armature RA is attracted and the actuating member R is displaced against the action of the spring RF (Figure 1). The actuating member R thus displaces the permutation members KA to KE and brings them out of the path of movement of the teeth of the combs L.

Also, the control member X is released by the actuating member R so that it is brought by its spring XF' into the path of movement of the tooth LX of the comb L (Figure 1).

If now the key T is depressed, the tooth LX will first abut against the upper end of the control member X and swing the latter against the is closed for the relay NR through the arm d2.

action of the spring XF (Figure 4). The contact at is thus closed so that a circuit is formed for the magnet YM. The magnet YM attracts its armature YA and thus swings the locking member Y. When this happens, the upper hook-shaped end of the lever Y abuts against the side face of the tooth LY and, when the key T has made about two-thirds of its downward stroke, it engages behind the ledge Ly on the tooth LY.

The key is thus locked against return into the normal position. At the same time, the hook end of the lever Y is brought beneath the teeth LY of. the unactuated keys so that the latter cannot be actuated.

The pivotal movement of the locking member Y also causes the contacts yl, g2 and 343 to be actuated. The contact yl is closed so that a circuit is formed for the stepping magnet DM of a. distributor switch which is controlled by an interrupter UR. The stepping magnet DR then steps the arms dl and d2 of the distributor. The contact 112 opens the circuit for the magnet RM so that the armature RA drops and releases the actuating member R. Some or all of the permutation members are now able to move under the influence of their springs KF according to the combination of teeth in the comb L. The comb shown in Figure 1 has only three teeth LA, LC and LE. Consequently, when the armature RA drops, the permutation members KA, KC and KE are held by the teeth LA, LC and LE while the permutation members KB and KD resume their normal positions. The permutation members KB and KD thus open their contacts b and d but the contacts a, c, e remain closed. On rotation of the distributor arm (II, a circuit for the transmitting relay SR is closed at the first, third and fifth steps, the contact 81' being actuated accordingly.

At the sixth step of the distributor, a circuit This relay opens its contacts m1 and 1212. The contact 121'! that the locking member Y is returned into its normal position and unlocks the actuated key. The contact nrZ de-energises the stepping magnet DM so that the distributor is brought to rest. In resuming its normal position, the locking member Y opens the contacts yl and g3 and closes contact 11 2. The magnet RM is again energised by the contact 112 as long as the starting key TAN remains closed. The actuating member R thus restores the permutation members KB and KD into their vertical position. The same or another key T can now be actuated.

In order to prevent the permutation members from being damaged by a newly actuated key should the permutation members not be restored to their vertical positions by the magnet RM sufficiently soon, the teeth LA to LE of the combs L are bevelled. A permutation member lying within the path of movement of a tooth will thus be positively swung by that tooth into its vertical position It will be seen from the above that the telegraph transmitter in accordance with the invention is particularly light to operate. Since the permutation members KA-KE are not set directly by the keys T, the only forces to be overcome when any one of the keys is depressed are that exerted by the spring TF which restores the key to its unoperated position and that arising from operation of the control member X. Not only are these forces very small in themselves, but they are the same for all keys, so that the pressure de-energises the magnet YM so to be applied bytheoperator is the same ior all keys. This leads to speed and easeof operation,

The particulafconstructionof the permutation members KA-KE contributes largelyfto speedof operation, These members, as shown in Figure 1:, are mounted in substantially parallel vertical planes on horizontal pivots Z. They are acted upon jin opposite senses .by two sets of spri'ngs, viz'z the contacts a-eandthe springs KF. The: latter are slightly strongerthan the contact springs and serve to hold the permutation members in their normal position; The permutationf upon them, so that inertia forces are correspondingly low and rapid actuation is obtained with the use of small operating forces. I

We claim:

1. A telegraph transmitter comprising a plurality of keys, means including a link connected to each "one of said keys, respectively, thereby to move each key substantially vertically, a plurality of selecting members each having a number of tooth-like projections, a selecting member being connected with a key and arranged to move vertically with each of said links, a plurality of pivotally mounted permutation members normally lying in asubstantially vertical plane passing approximately through their pivotal axes and in the path of movement of said tooth-like projections, a' spring acting on each of said permuwhich it lies in the path of movementof one of the teeth on said selecting members, eleetromag-' netically actuated means for locking'a selecting member oi an actuated key and all the unactuated keys against movement, and' means for emitting a train of impulses determined by the setting of said permutation members by the actu ated key. i

4. A telegraph transmitteras claimed in claim 3, in which said electromagnetically actuated locking means comprise anormally vertical locking membermounted for pivotal" movementabout an axis lying in the same horizontal plane as the pivotal axes of said permutation member and movable into and out of the path of said selecting members, and an electromagnet for rocking said locking member into its effective locking position.

5. A telegraph transmitter comprising a plurality of transmitting keys, means for moving each key substantially vertically, a comb-like selecting means for each key, a plurality of vertical permutation members each mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis from a normal vertical position in which each lies in the path or movement of the teeth of said selecting members, spring means acting on said permutation members adapted to restore them to normal position when moved, a magnet for rocking said permutation members out of the path of movement of said teeth and against theaction of said spring means, a pivotal control member arranged beside said permutation members and displaceable by one of said teeth on actuation of one of said keys, means controlled by said'control member for influencing said magnet theretationmembers, magnetic means for displacing said permutation members against the action of said springs out of the path of movement of said tooth-like projections, and means for emitting a train of impulsesldetermined by the setting of said permutation members'on actuation-oi a key.

2. A telegraph transmitter as set forth in claim 1, comprising also means for controlling said magnetic means, said means comprisinga mem ber mounted for pivotal movement about an axis lying in the same horizontal plane as the pivotal axes of said permutation members and movable into and out of a normal substantially vertical positionin which it lies in the path of movement of one of the teethon said selecting members.

3. A telegraph transmitter comprising a plu rality of keys, means/including a link connected to each oneof said keys, respectively, thereby to move eachkey substantially vertically, a plurality of selecting members each having a number of tooth-like projections, a selecting member being connected with a key and arranged to move vertically with each of said links, a plurality of pivotally mounted permutation members normally lying in a substantially vertical plane passing approximately through their pivotal axes and in the path of movement of said tooth-like projections, a spring acting on each of said permutation members, magnetic'means for displacing said permutation members against the action of said springs out of the path of movement of said tooth-like projections, means for controlling said magnetic,

means, said means comprising a member mounted for pivotal movement about an axis lying in the same horizontal plane as the pivotal axes of said permutation members and movable into and out of a normal substantially vertical position in by to release said permutationmembers iorfpivotal movement under the action of the spring means, a pivotal locking member arranged beside said permutation members for holding the selecta train of transmitting impulses determined by the setting of said permutation members.

6. A telegraph transmitter comprising a plurality of transmitting keys, a pair of spaced bearing pins arranged one above the other, a plurality of pairs of links, one link in each pair being I pivotally mounted on one of said bearing pins and the other on the other of said pins, and

means connecting said pairs of links to said keys, a spring arranged between the two links in each of said pairs for holding the associated key in its normal unactuated position, means actuated on depressing said keys for transmitting a train of current impulses, a plurality of type carriers, and means actuated by said links on the lower of said pins for striking said type carriers. H

7. A, telegraph transmitter comprising a plurality of keys, a selecting member for each key in the form of a comb having a different combination of teeth from the other and selectively displaceable downwards on actuation of its key, a plurality of permutation members arranged in parallel vertical planes for displacement about parallel horizontal axes in accordance with the combination of teeth in the selected selecting member, and means controlled by said permutation members for transmitting a train of current impulses determined by the combination of teeth in the selected selecting member.

8. A telegraph instrument comprising a plurality of keys, a plurality of comb-like selecting about parallel horizontal axes, means for urging 10,

each of aid permutation members out of the vertical plane containing its pivotal axis into contact with the teeth of a downwardly moved selecting member, means for holding said permutation members out of the path of movement oi said selecting members against the action of said last-mentioned means, means for releasing said holding means thereby to allow said permutation members to take up relatively displaced positions in accordance with the combination of teeth in the downwardly moved selecting member, and means for emitting trains of current impulses determined by said relatively displaced positions of said permutation members.

. KARL GUNDLFINGER.

ALFRED LAHL. 

